2012 Asia Mobile Operators

Report Cover Image

Last updated: 15 Oct 2012 Update History

Report Status: Archived

Report Pages: 356

Analyst: Peter Evans

Publication Overview

The report has gathered together a selection of information about each of these many operators. The range of information presented in the text, and where appropriate in tables, includes:

  • brief history of the company;
  • corporate and business structure;
  • subscriber growth;
  • some information on financial performance;
  • market position.

It is noted that the information provided varies from market to market and operator to operator, depending very much on the availability of statistics and corporate reports. In some markets BuddeComm also provides an overall review of the market in which we find these operators; this overview includes such statistical information as market share, and Average Revenue per User (ARPU) if available. Within the background information we have also reported on the mergers and acquisition that have been part of a transformational market.

Researcher:- Peter Evans
Current publication date:- October 2012 (10th Edition)

Executive Summary

Asia’s highly competitive mobile market is built on a multitude of innovative operators

Across Asia a total of around three billion mobile subscribers are being served by a large number of mobile operators. The operators are continuing to drive the market, expanding it by more than 10% annually coming into 2012. This market report presents a wide-ranging review, providing details on around 175 of the mobile operators to be found in Asia in 2012.

The list of operators ranges from the giant China Mobile with almost 700 million subscribers right through to a number of much smaller operators with only a few thousand subscribers each. BuddeComm’s overview of operators in the region does not claim to present an exhaustive list of licensed operators but it certainly is indicative of the breadth and variety of operator to be found in the region. It also reflects the highly commercial and competitive nature of the mobile sector in this region.

The focus of this report is on the operators within the individual national markets. Of course, in addition to these individual operators there are those companies such as SingTel, Vodafone, and Axiata (formerly Telekom Malaysia International) that have built a substantial presence around the region beyond their own domestic market through their shareholdings in operators in multiple other markets. This aspect of these corporations is not discussed in any detail but is mentioned in passing in the country by country review.

The table below shows the top operators in Asia as ranked by subscribers as of March 2012. It is noted that of the region’s operators just 16 (those listed in the table) have a combined share of just over 70% of the total regional mobile market. In other words, less than 10% of the market controls almost three quarters of the total subscriber base. This list of top operators has remained relatively stable over the last year or so, with few changes to the leading group.

Top mobile operators in Asia (By subscribers) – March 2012

Operator

Country

Subscribers

(million)

China Mobile

China

667.2

China Unicom

China

209.5

Bharti

India

181.3

Reliance Communications

India

153.0

Vodafone Essar

India

150.5

China Telecom

China

135.8

Idea/ Spice

India

112.7

Telkomsel

Indonesia

112.0

BSNL

India

98.51

Tata Teleservices

India

81.75

Aircel/Dishnet

India

62.6

NTT DoCoMo

Japan

60.1

Viettel

Vietnam

60.0

Indosat

Indonesia

52.1

Smart Communications

Philippines

50.5

PMCL

Pakistan

35.0

(Source: BuddeComm based on industry data)

While the overall regional growth rate was slightly over 10% in 2011 highlights a selection of countries with growth rates well in excess of the regional average. Compared with a few years back, the market has moderated considerably; however, there was still one country with growth in excess of 100% - North Korea’s subscriber base grew by 129% in 2011. The high growth rate markets are typically the smaller developing economies that are finally experiencing surges in subscriber numbers as they reach the turning point on the ‘S-curve’. It is noted that India appears on the list. Although it is certainly experiencing a growth surge at this stage, it is its own special case being such a huge market (population 1.2 billion) with the growth being driven by a sophisticated telecom regulatory regime on the back of a strong economy.

With the progressive opening up of markets to more competition, we have seen the licensing of more and more operators across the region. One phenomenon in Asia has been the granting of a significant number of mobile operator licences in what have been regarded as smaller markets, ie with relatively low populations as well as low income per capita. We have seen this occur for example in Cambodia, Laos and Georgia. Over time, we can certainly expect some rationalisation of the operator numbers in such markets. In fact the process has already started in Cambodia.

Data in this report is the latest available at the time of preparation and may not be for the current year.

Related Reports

Share this Report

TMT Intelligence

A platform to scale your intelligence tasks

Monitor critical insights with our AI-powered Market Intelligence Platform gathering and analyzing intelligence in real time. With AI trained to spot emerging trends and detect new strategic opportunities, our clients use TMT Intelligence to accelerate their growth.

If you want to know more about it, please see:

TMT Intelligence Platform

Research Methodology

BuddeComm's strategic business reports contain a combination of both primary and secondary research statistics, analyses written by our senior analysts supported by a network of experts, industry contacts and researchers from around the world as well as our own scenario forecasts.

For more details, please see:

Research Methodology

More than 4,000 customers from 140 countries utilise BuddeComm Research

Are you interested in BuddeComm's Custom Research Service?

News & Views

Have the latest telecommunications industry news delivered to your inbox by subscribing to BuddeComm's weekly newsletter.

Unsubscribe